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Germany
Germany is a country in Central Europe. To the north of Germany is the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east there is Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south there is Austria and Switzerland and to the west there is France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The territory of Germany covers 357,021 square kilometers. Germany has 81.8 million inhabitants, making it the largest population among member states of the European Union. Unlucky for the Germans, it is also home to the third-largest number of international migrants worldwide. Germany, when first established, was called Germania (before AD100.) by the start of the 10th century German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern Germany became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. In 1949, after World War II, Germany was divided into two separate states—East Germany and West Germany and was famously separated by the Berlin wall. The West was occupied by America, Britain and a little bit went to France, with the whole of the East going to Russia to occupy. This remained like this until 1990 when they were reunited. Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, G8, G20, OECD, and the WTO. It is a major power with the world's fourth largest economy by nominal GDP. To make up for their past, they are the second highest importer of foreign aid and support around the world, behing the United States of America. Germany is recognized as a scientific and technological leader in several fields. History- Germanic The Germanic tribes are believed to have begun during the Nordic Bronze Age, or at the latest, during the Pre-Roman Iron Age. From southern Scandinavia to the North of Germany the Germanic tribes covered a large amount of land, making one of the largest canalizations in the world, at the time period. They continued to expand east, west south and north in the 1st century, where they had to eventually stop because they came into contacted with Celtic and Slavic tribes. Little is known about this time but it is believed that Germania was first invaded by the Romans under the Roman general Publius Quinctilius Varus. The Romans aim was to occupy the area from the river Rhine to the Ural Mountains. This was the first time the Germania tribes started to form together and work as one. In 9 AD the Roman legions suffered one of their first and largest defeats under Varus. This became known as the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, where Arminius led the Germanic tribes to victory. By 100AD the time of Tacitus' Germania had become strong and powerful, which explains the fact Germanic was one of the last countries the Roman Empire evaded. Germany- Third Reich Hitler was given unrestricted legislative power in February 27th 1933 after the Reichstag building was burn down. Only the Social Democratic Party voted against it, while Communist MPs had already been imprisoned for the terrorist attack. Hitler established a centralized totalitarian state within months after crushing anyone that opposed him and in 1935 he gained control of the military. Sport Economy Germany has a social market economy with a highly qualified labour force, a large capital stock, a low level of corruption, and a high level of innovation. It has the largest national economy in Europe, the fourth largest by nominal GDP in the world, and the fifth largest by PPP in 2009. The service sector contributes around 71 percent of the total GDP, industry 28 percent, and agriculture 0.9 percent. The average national unemployment rate in 2010 was about 7.5 percent. First estimates indicate a 3.6 percent increase in the price-adjusted GDP for 2010, following a 4.7 percent drop in 2009. Germany is a founding member of the EU, the G8 and the G20, and was the world's largest exporter from 2003 to 2008. In 2009 it remains the second largest exporter and third largest importer of goods. Most of the country's exports are in engineering, especially machinery, automobiles, chemical goods and metals. Germany is a leading producer of wind turbines and solar-power technology. Major annual international trade fairs and congresses are held in Hanover, Frankfurt, and Berlin. Of the world's 500 largest stock-market-listed companies measured by revenue in 2010, the Fortune Global 500, 37 are headquartered in Germany. 30 Germany-based companies are included in the DAX, the German stock market index. Well-known global brands are Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Siemens, Volkswagen, Adidas, Audi, Allianz, Porsche, Lufthansa, and Nivea. Germany is recognised for its specialised small and medium enterprises. Around 1,000 of these companies are global market leaders in their segment and are labelled hidden champions. History- Post War Facts Literacy age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% Protestant 35%, Roman Catholic 33%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3% Life Expectancy- male: 75.66 years and 81.81 years Natural Resources- coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land Internet hosts: 2,686,119 Internet users: 39 million Telephones (main lines in use) 54.35 million Telephones (mobile cellular) 64.8 million Category:Countries